A Pause for Breath

After a good day’s rest on Friday, I set off on a cold rainy Saturday morning. I made good time, covering some 18.8 miles by about 13:30. I hit a very cold Blue Mountain Shelter, which already housed ‘Cowboy’, ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’. Sunrise, a Brazillian girl who lives in Denver, promptly christened me ‘Flying By’, or ‘FlyBy’ for short.

The trail name was perhaps too optimistic, though. The day’s hike was clearly a bit much for my body, and by late afternoon I was feeling rather nauseous, and had the beginnings of shin splints on my left leg.

In the morning I headed for the nearest road, where I shared a shuttle with some other hikers into Hiawassee. And that’s where I was yesterday and today – taking a bit of time off to let my body recover. I’ve also bitten bought some hiking poles, which should help take some weight of my legs.

Tomorrow morning, with another decent night’s rest behind me, I’ll head back to the trail. Although the next few days will be a bit slower, hopefully I’ll be flying by in no time :-)